The Calgary Flames faced three very good teams since our previous edition of Hot Topics and the results have been mixed.
An embarrassing 8-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning was followed by a stellar performance in a 3-0 shutout of the Florida Panthers. On Tuesday, the Flames squandered a two-goal lead and ultimately dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Boston Bruins.
We canvassed social media for a fresh batch of questions about the Flames and, just like Santa and his reindeer, you delivered. It’s clear that Calgary hockey fans are fascinated by the direction of the team.
Let’s get into it …
Let’s start with a follow-up on Tuesday’s news that third-pairing blue-liner Brayden Pachal has inked a two-year extension … Who is the next priority for a new contract?
AUSTIN: For me, it’s got to be Kevin Bahl. The Flames have a few exciting defensive prospects in their system, but there aren’t many guys who match Bahl’s profile. When they acquired him in the trade that sent Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils, all anyone really knew about Bahl was that he’s durable — he all played 82 games last season — and that at 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 230 pounds, he has serious size.
What we didn’t know was that he would form a reliable partnership with Rasmus Andersson that has been foundational to a lot of the Flames’ success this year. He’s not a bruiser, but Craig Conroy referenced Bahl’s willingness to play with physicality when I spoke with him this week and his responsible defensive play allows Andersson to push forward offensively when needed.
At 24, Bahl is only getting better. Getting him signed to a new contract should be a major priority. He’s third on the team in minutes played, so he’s going to be due for a substantial raise from the $1.05 million US he’s making this season, but his play this year and last suggest he’s worth keeping around long-term.
I wouldn’t blink at a four- or five-year deal.
GILBERTSON: I’ll start by agreeing with Danny because I do think there’s a strong chance that Bahl is next to put pen to paper on an extension.
The top priority, however, should be Connor Zary. Like any hot-shot forward who is just wrapping his entry-level contract, this could be a tricky negotiation. Is it best for Conroy & Co. to pitch a bridge deal, allowing a bit more time to figure out exactly where Zary fits in the lineup while understanding that with his offensive upside, you’re going to be paying big bucks on his next deal?
Or do you aim for a long-term pact, even the maximum eight years, because you already know that this guy is going to be a big part of your core as you prepare for the move to Scotia Place?
With rumours of a big bump in the salary cap, the 23-year-old Zary might prefer to wait a few months before talking contract. He will be a restricted free agent in the summer, so there’s not a massive rush.
Bill asks: “What are the futures of Anthony Mantha and Andrei Kuzmenko with the Flames?”
AUSTIN: These two need to be separated in my opinion. Yes, they’re both wingers who are unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, but I still think it’s possible that if his recovery from ACL surgery goes well, the Flames would consider re-signing Mantha to a short-term deal. He’d scored four goals and added three assists in 13 games this season and certainly seemed like he fit in well in the locker room. If there’s a low-risk deal available, it might be worth considering.
It’s harder to see a path forward with Kuzmenko. His primary utility is as a scorer, but he has a grand total of one goal in 28 games this season. He arguably has been the biggest disappointment of the year for the Flames and his trade value has sunk to the point where I’m not even sure there’ll be buyers at the deadline if that’s the direction the team decides to go. He’s got to step up fast if he’s going to stick around next year — not just with the Flames, but in the NHL.
Simon asks: “What is your report card for Ryan Huska and the coaching team? What have they done well and need to continue? Where do they need to improve? Finally, what grade do you assign?”
GILBERTSON: I really don’t like letter grades but since Simon asked politely, and asked twice, here goes … From my vantage point, Ryan Huska and his staff deserve a big chunk of credit for the Flames’ better-than-expected start. Huska made a few important tweaks to the systems as he prepared for his second season as bench boss and we have seen proof that this relentless and structured style can effectively cover over some of the deficiencies on the roster. There have only been a few nights where it didn’t seem that the players were fully invested in that brand, so the coaches score high marks for buy-in. Where we’d be docking points is on special teams, although the power-play has snapped out of its funk and there have been signs of recent improvement on the penalty kill. With that in mind, I’d say a B or B- is fair. (Video coach Jamie Pringle earns an A for his work on coaches’ challenges. What a roll he has been on.)
Anne asks: “What has been the biggest pleasant surprise so far this year?”
AUSTIN: I already wrote about Bahl and I think Dustin Wolf is almost a little too obvious, so instead I’ll go with the emergence of Matt Coronato. It’s not like anyone was writing off the 2021 first-round draft pick, but he had to work through some growing pains in his first season as a pro last year. When he was sent down to the Wranglers five games into the season, you couldn’t help but be disappointed that he hadn’t managed to stick around on the big-league roster. He didn’t have to wait long to earn another shot with the Flames, though, and he has potted eight goals while adding six assists in 27 games. Only Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau have scored more and Coronato’s connection with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman has been really encouraging. The surprise isn’t that Coronato is capable of playing in the NHL, it’s only that he made such a season-to-season leap.
Ryan asks: “Is it as simple as having final change as to why they are substantially more effective at home than on the road? If not, what do you see it as?”
GILBERTSON: This is a great question. I wish I had a better answer. Final change is certainly a part of it. I think we saw a prime example of that in Saturday’s blanking of the defending champion Panthers, when the Backlund-Coleman-Coronato trio did a terrific job against Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. I can’t pinpoint the reason, but it just seems that the Flames have consistently been able to stick to their brand on home ice, while there have been too many road outings where they didn’t quite look like themselves. That usually means a smorgasbord of high-danger chances for the other guys. In their own barn, the Flames have been good at wrestling back momentum when things start to turn, although they failed to do that in the second half of Thursday’s loss to the Bruins. Their play at the Saddledome has been a good news story, but they really need wins over the Senators and Blackhawks before the holiday break to keep that train rolling.
Is there a Hot Topic that you’d like Danny Austin and Wes Gilbertson to discuss next week? Send your questions to [email protected] or [email protected].